Amor bajo las estrellas lejanas

Capítulo 8

“Alright! Tomorrow at dusk, at the western cliff!” Long Ming said.

“Okay, it’s a deal!” Xi Ri said.

"Just you alone."

"What is there to fear!"

"Okay! I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."

“Fine! I won’t wait for you tomorrow,” Xi Ri said, then grinned silently as soon as the words left her mouth.

The roof fell silent for a moment, then cracked—another tile shattered…

The main text also mentions the fragility of Longming tea.

With each cracking sound, Xi Ri's heart sank a little lower. Five tiles had already been destroyed by him, and there was no way she would have any tiles to cover the roof tonight. Although she was annoyed, she didn't dare to say anything more to provoke the man above her. If she continued to say anything, this arrogant young master Long would definitely not let go of any tiles tonight. In order to at least get a good night's sleep, Xi Ri decided to endure it!

After enduring the humiliation of the past, there was no sound except for the occasional sound of drinking coming from the rooftop.

Xi Ri thought to herself: Fortunately, Tian Shuang and Tian Yong were called to the front hall by Liu Mama today, otherwise, with such a loud noise, they would probably have already started a commotion, and Liu Mama would definitely have given her a hard time for days.

Why would he choose such a strange place as the western cliff? She'd never been there before; just hearing the name, "western cliff," it sounded dangerous. Was this guy plotting to throw her off the cliff as revenge? The thought sent a chill down her spine…

With a few soft sounds, the person above seemed to get up and leave.

Xi Ri got up, thinking to herself, "That guy's finally gone. I can go to sleep now." Wow, so sleepy! The twinkling stars in the sky were quite hypnotic; she could barely keep her eyes open. But unexpectedly, just as she got up from the soft couch, something fell from the sky, nearly hitting her on the head. She jumped back and looked closely—it was an empty wine jug, the very one he had just been drinking from! She looked up angrily and saw the man above her looking down at her with a smug smile on his face. Xi Ri gritted her teeth, but then saw him point to the rubble at his feet, then pinch it between two fingers, as if to say, "If you dare resist, I'll crush your tiles."

She glared at him angrily, gritting her teeth, but didn't know what to say.

He seemed quite pleased with Xi Ri's expression, grinned, threw his head back, and laughed loudly. Pointing to the hole at his feet, he said, "This hole isn't that big. My wine jug can barely fit in. Looks like you won't need to use a vat to catch the rain tonight. A few chamber pots will do." As he spoke, his figure swayed, and his laughter faded into the distance.

Xi Ri was almost so angry she vomited blood. There was such a big hole, the wine pot could have fallen sideways, and yet they dared to say it was barely enough, and even suggested using a chamber pot to catch it...

But despite her anger, there was nothing she could do. On one hand, she was afraid that if she made a scene and Liu's mother found out, she would be bothered for days. On the other hand, she was afraid that if she continued to anger that young master Long, he might really break all her roof tiles. In the end, she could only watch helplessly as he left.

Xi Ri looked up helplessly at the huge hole the rat had chewed in the roof above her head… She sighed. It seemed she would have to call someone to repair the roof tomorrow. But what if they asked how such a big hole appeared in the roof? How could she answer? Should she say that a stray cat had made the hole? Where in the world could there be such a powerful stray cat, except for that one!

If Liu's mother finds out, she'll nag for ages. That's such a hassle.

But there was no time to worry about that now. It was already late at night, and Xi Ri was quite tired, so he changed his clothes and went to bed.

When I woke up the next day, I instinctively glanced at the roof and was surprised to find that the rubble had been covered up. It was clear that someone had repaired the roof sometime last night.

Could it be him?

………………

That morning, Long Ming seemed to have a premonition. He booked the entire second floor early in the morning and had Xiao Zuzi guard the stairwell to prevent anyone from coming up and disturbing him. He sat alone by the window, ate his breakfast, and then began to sip his tea. The view from the window was excellent, and the scenery at the street corner was unobstructed.

That morning, although a thin mist lingered over the city, it foreshadowed a fine day, which made Long Ming secretly look forward to it.

A few days ago, he deliberately let slip that he was interested in the girl who was invited to the banquet at Wanxi Restaurant that day. But gossip is a powerful thing. What was originally just an interest became, after being spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, it turned into him wanting to marry that girl. As soon as this news spread, the whole of Suzhou was like a pot boiling over. Everyone in the streets and alleys was talking about his marriage. Some people even said that they had already set a wedding date. It was really outrageous.

His martial arts skills were extremely high, and he was always cold and ruthless, as everyone in Suzhou knew. No one dared to follow him, nor did anyone dare to question him. At first, everyone was just speculating wildly, but later, under the influence of public opinion, the matter gradually seemed to become a fact.

Some busybodies even went around inquiring about Tian Xiri's whereabouts, but clearly, Tian Xiri was also very well hidden, as her real name and address could not be found out. It seems this woman has some ability. But no matter how capable she is, unless she stays away from the streets, she can't escape her notice in the long run.

He himself hadn't expected things to escalate to this extent. But that woman's elaborate schemes were merely an attempt to get his attention; don't think liking him is an easy thing.

She herself agreed to the agreement that day, and now that things have come to this, whether she can get through this ordeal depends on her own fate.

In fact, there is a reason why people would believe this rumor.

The rumor that Young Master Long was interested in that woman was first spread by a few of his friends. Then, after being embellished by countless people, it evolved into a rumor that Young Master Long was going to get married. With enough word, the false news gradually began to seem true.

Furthermore, over the years, the people of Suzhou had only heard of Young Master Long rejecting the vows of love from various women, but they had never heard of him getting close to any woman, let alone any rumors that he had any interest in any woman. Yet now, the rumors that Young Master Long was going to get married had spread throughout Suzhou, and since he himself did not come forward to clarify, everyone naturally began to believe it.

Furthermore, everyone witnessed the woman and Young Master Long on a date at Wanxi Restaurant that day, and it was rumored that Young Master Long was extremely gentle and considerate towards the woman. This was not untrue, for three reasons:

First, many people witnessed Young Master Long booking the entire Wanxi Restaurant to host a grand banquet for that woman.

Secondly, when the woman nearly fell, Long Ming actually smiled and personally reached out to help her up. Tell me, in all these years, who in Suzhou has ever seen Young Master Long smile so warmly and attentively towards any woman? According to the tearful accounts of Suzhou's older women, they've lived in Suzhou for so many years, practically watching Young Master Long grow up, yet they've never seen him so kind and gentle towards any woman. For so many years, they've practically run out of gossip material when they're drying grain or husking corn. It's truly a shame for them; even the three most beautiful women in Suzhou have never caught Young Master Long's eye. If it weren't for the precedent of a devoted lover in the Long family, sometimes they would even suspect that Young Master Long is gay.

Third, after the male and female protagonists left Wanxi Restaurant that day, people surrounded the waiter who had served them, hoping to get some gossip from him. The waiter was quite generous; facing the many eager faces, he said with obvious self-satisfaction, "Young Master Long was so considerate, caring, and attentive to that woman, so loyal, gentle, and charming, like a little bird..." Bah! ...Hearing this, an older woman couldn't help but interrupt him, angrily rebuking him for talking nonsense! Can a little bird really cling to someone? Wouldn't it have been eaten long ago? The crowd initially agreed, but upon hearing the woman's last sentence, they all dispersed—

Long Ming's marriage has been the talk of the town in Suzhou these past few days. What is his relationship with that woman? How did Long Ming meet her? Who is that woman? What is her status, position, and appearance? These questions have been wildly speculated upon by everyone over the past few days.

As it was passed around, countless versions emerged, with two of them being the most widely circulated.

First, the woman was a princess in distress who was unintentionally rescued by Long Ming. Long Ming fell in love with the princess at first sight, and the princess, in order to repay the life-saving grace, pledged herself to him. The two of them secretly pledged their lives to each other on the western cliff.

Secondly, one day, the woman went to the western cliff, and Long Ming also went to the western cliff. The woman accidentally slipped and nearly committed a fatal mistake. The situation was extremely critical, and it seemed the beautiful young woman was about to perish. In the nick of time, Long Ming suddenly took to the air and jumped off the cliff at the last moment, catching the woman who was just a finger's width away from hitting the ground headfirst. Then, naturally, the two secretly pledged their lives to each other on the western cliff, and so on, and so forth…

It's easy to see three commonalities in these two stories: first, a beautiful woman loves a hero; second, a hero saves a beautiful woman; and third, a cliff on the west side.

The first two are easy to understand, but the third one might puzzle outsiders: why is the western cliff always mentioned?

The western cliff is quite famous in Suzhou, also known as Lover's Cliff. For a long time, Suzhou men and women who wanted to pledge their love to each other would go to the western cliff.

The cliff is a hundred meters high. Legend has it that if a man and a woman support each other and climb to the top of the cliff together, it will signify that their love will last a lifetime until death. They will support each other until they die of old age, which also signifies their unwavering devotion and bold pursuit of love.

I've heard that most lovers only found the courage to elope after climbing over that cliff, and I've also heard that most of those who reached the top of that cliff eloped.

The fog in the city gradually dissipated, and Suzhou returned to its usual bustling state, from a few passersby heading to the market to a lively and prosperous city.

Long Ming was halfway through his tea when he clearly saw the woman appear at the street corner with her servants. A sudden thought struck him: three days had passed, and she had finally appeared!

Seeing Tian Xiri walk unhurriedly through the crowd, even he himself couldn't help but become serious.